Laboratory medicine for medical students

Laboratory Medicine - the New Discipline in the Pregradual Study of General Medicine in Slovakia Laboratory Medicine was introduced in the pregradual study of General Medicine at Slovak Medical University in the school year 2016/2017 by Vice Dean ass. prof. MUDr. Katarina Holeckova PhD. It is for the first time ever for the Slovak Republic.

Laboratory Medicine is part of the education of general medicine in the 4th school year – in both formats - lectures and seminars / demonstrations - in the Slovak and English language.

The study is completed by the final exam. Lectures and seminars are based on the monography “Clinical Laboratory Science“ written and edited by Mary Louise Turgeon, issued by Elsevier and Mosby in 2012. The monography has more than 600 pages.

Though the above mentioned monography was at disposal for students as a general source, the need for shorter version was strongly demanded by the students. This one was prepared and worked out by prof. MUDr. RNDr. Gustav Kovac CSc MBA (specialist in laboratory medicine, clinical chemistry and internal medicine) and MUDr. Anna Porubenova MPH (specialist in laboratory medicine and for organisation of the health care): both accountable for running lectures and seminars in this new pregradual discipline.

The issue of medicine was reviewed, complemented and adjusted by ass.prof. MUDr. Katarina Holeckova PhD (specialist in pediatrics and infectology), MUDr. Katarina Cerna MHA (specialist in internal medicine, diabetology and social medicine) and MUDr. Beata Havelkova MPH (specialist in internal medicine and for health insurance).

The issue of laboratory was reviewed, complemented and adjusted by ass.prof. dipl. Ing. Pavel Blazicek CSc (specialist in laboratory medicine and clinical chemistry), MUDr. Monika Drakulova (specialist in hematology, laboratory medicine and pediatrics), Dipl. Ing. Michal Farkas (specialist in laboratory medicine and clinical chemistry), Pharm.Dr. Anna Keleova CSc (specialist in clinical immunology and allergology), MUDr. Daniel Kuba PhD (specialist in clinical immunology and alergology), ass. prof. MUDr. Michal Ondrejcak CSc (specialist in clinical genetics, obstetrics and gynaecology), and ass. prof. RNDr. Jan Trupl CSc (specialist in clinical microbiology).

In comparison with „Clinical Laboratory Science“ written and edited by Mary Louise Turgeon which we consider as the main source for our students and as a base for this document
• is shorter (the text includes 160 pages and 22 chapters),
• in general hierarchy as well as in some chapters restructured and complemented,
• in global architecture other priorities have been set.

The main goal of this document is to offer targeted comments to the lectures: the document could be considered as an extended syllabus as well. We strongly recommend to use it as a supportive tool helping „to keep the line and orientation“ in the process of the study of other textbooks and monographies.

All authors deserve recognition for being in time, concise and clear. Thanks dr. Milan Lehky Junior, who was the editor for this book. Working with him is pleasure.